“What a beautiful creation the mountain bike; what else can circle so many hard to reach places within an embrace of so many kilometers.”

This Saturday we were treated to an amazingly epic mountain bike route in the southern foothills of the Pyrenees. I could claim that this was research for my Spanish Pyrenees holiday, and indeed it was, but more than that it was about riding bikes with friends. This part of Spain is famous for its rock-climbing but the mountain biking is equally good here, and the scenery is spectacular, like something out of the wild west. The area is around and hour and three-quarters from San Sebastian so is a little bit far for our San Sebastian based mountain bike holidays, but it is possible to do as a day trip or with the option of spending one night here during a weeks holiday. Read on for more pictures and a description of the route. Read the post »

A historical village at the top of a mountain.

Another day mountain biking in Spain. This time I left the Basque Country and drove south into Spain, towards Pamplona. The trail was a remote mountain, around an hour and twenty minutes from San Sebastian. My friend Javito had a holiday so was joining me, partly to show me some trails and partly to do some trail finding. We rode until the sun set, I crashed 4 times and we rode some of the finest singletrack I’ve ridden in a long time. Throw in war heroes, plane crashes, mountain top graveyards and it all adds up to a fine day mountain biking and somewhere we might take you on your mountain bike holiday. Read the post »

Biking high above Spain and France with the Pyrenees in the background.

As the economic crisis rumbles on my friend from Pamplona, Antonio, finds himself with a holiday every Tuesday. So, Spain’s loss is our gain and we plan to use his holiday for mountain biking each week. This Tuesday Antonio told me he had a new route from a mountain which sits on the border with Spain and France, around equidistant from San Sebastian and Pamplona. I had taken my bike there previously and not found a route but Antonio assured me that this descent was one of the best he knows. That was enough to convince me! Read on for more about how we spend Antonio’s Tuesday holiday… Read the post »

More sillouttes at sunset.

Another week and more new trails! On Tuesday I had a short holiday near Pamplona and was shown around by Javito, a local rider. We rode on old smugglers trails crossing the mountains between Spain and France. The day was all about tough climbs and stunning contour singletrack with big views over the Basque mountains and the snow covered Pyrenees. We were treated to clear blue skies but there was a strong wind and, at over 1000m, the temperatures were on the cold side. The other “new trail” was one I have actually done once before but not used enough to guide on. It is a stunning trail, around 35km in length but with about 32km of singletrack. That singletrack winds round the mountains on ancient, and now lost, canals and paths through 17th century iron works and charcoal trails. For hours we didn’t see anything that was less than a couple of hundred years old. The soundtrack of the day was dry leaves crackling as we flew through them. Perfect. So, more pictures and less words today, I hope you enjoy… Read the post »

Stunning views all the way along the coast.

On Wednesday I was building a mountain bike trail in a misty forest. On Thursday I was on a mountain, high above the clouds, contemplating a long rocky descent. On Sunday we rode our bikes on perfect singletrack along the coast, near Bilbao, on a 52km epic route. What can I say, I love the Basque Country and surely it must be close to mountain bike heaven! Read on for more about Sunday’s route, or just to see the pictures of one of the most beautiful places in Spain. Read the post »